1
as in deserter
a person who abandons a cause or organization usually without right
an apostate from communism, he later became one of its harshest critics
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in traitor
one who betrays a trust or an allegiance
became an apostate to liberalism after he had gotten wealthy
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in renegade
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of apostate
Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2025
In Iran, Baha’is are considered to be apostates and face persecution, marked by extreme violence including extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detention.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
On the walls, someone had spray painted graffiti calling Alawites dogs and apostates.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2025
As the developed north lectures this new generation of Latin American leaders to abide by neoliberal, democratic norms and isolating apostates, China and Russia are all too willing to provide an alternative.
—Christopher Sabatini, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for apostate
Noun
The first such, that of John McCain, in September of 2018, felt like a meeting of the resistance, a clarion call to take up arms where the late senator, another Republican who turned apostate rather than submit to Trump, had left them on the field.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for apostate
Noun
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Harry Truman granted amnesty to certain World War II deserters, while Jimmy Carter granted pardons to hundreds of thousands of individuals who dodged the draft during the Vietnam War.—
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After a British deserter mistakenly gains immortality during the American Revolution, he is forced to face his cowardly past and fight against a sinister plot to destroy America.—
Noun
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Hemphill spoke alongside former Capitol police officer Winston Pingeon, who described being punched in the face, pepper sprayed, and called a traitor by the rioters.—
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The J6ers were not insurrectionists, traitors, and miscreants but patriots, heroes, and innocents.—
Adjective
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The city’s battles with renegade first-time Councilmember Tony Blain, a tree removal project planned for public safety, the opening of the West Village Poway Apartments and new e-bike regulations were among the big stories in Poway this year.—
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Supermarket Sweep was renegade.—
Noun
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Last December, armed rebels previously aligned with terror groups finally ousted Assad from power after a 14 year civil war.—
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There was a buffer zone where French soldiers were and then the north was held by rebel groups.—
Adjective
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Such was the case this past weekend, when tens of millions of fans keyed in on the denouement of the college basketball season at the expense of lesser spectacles such as spring football and one notoriously schismatic pro golf startup.—
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The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which didn't recognize the authority of the Russian church and had been regarded as schismatic, was granted full recognition in 2019 by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Orthodoxy's top authority.—
Noun
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While many are now driven primarily by economic interests, a subset retains insurgent, ant-imperialist commitments.—
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That could mean tightening sanctions on remaining power brokers, expanding strikes against security installations and militias, covertly supporting insurgent factions, and using Maduro’s prospective trial as a global stage on which to delegitimize Chavismo once and for all.—
Adjective
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In many cases, survivors’ original experiences of abuse were never fully investigated, leaving little to present under the Act unless courts accept nontraditional forms of evidence, something counties have handled inconsistently.—
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This initiative is part of the college’s broader effort to expand apprenticeship opportunities to include nontraditional fields such as early childhood education and health care.—
Noun
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Rolapp’s bold approach created waves this week when the tour reinstated LIV defector Brook Koepka, a five-time major winner and worldwide star.—
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Brooks Koepka, one of the big names who decamped from the PGA Tour four years ago for the upstart LIV, is returning to the PGA Tour later this month thanks to a new policy meant to welcome select LIV defectors back.—
Cite this Entry
“Apostate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apostate. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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